Shorecrest Honored as Best Youth Band in Dublin St. Patrick's Day Parade

The Shorecrest High School Highlander Marching Band, consisting of over 100 musicians accompanied by Bagpipers, Highland Dancers and Flags, went on its fifth trip to Dublin, Ireland to appear in the St. Patrick's Day parade on March 17. The group was honored as Best Youth Band in the parade! The groups also marched in the Limerick parade and were chosen Best International Band.

View photos and the latest posts from the trip on the Washington Cultural Exchange Web site.

Watch the Dublin parade online (Shorecrest performance is about 20 minutes into the telecast)

Watch Shorecrest's marching band, pipers, Highland dancers and flags on KING 5 Morning News

The Shorecrest delegation of 170 included 113 band members, seven pipers, 10 flag team members, seven members of the Highland Dancers team, and 32 staff and parents. This year's band is led by senior drum major Matthew Demmert-Fletcher and band directors Vince Caruso and Alec Wilmart.

The band is an all-volunteer ensemble that rehearses outside of class time and prides itself on its Scottish heritage, proudly wearing the traditional kilt and uniform of the Clan Gordon. The drum line is the heart of the band and their red jackets distinguish its members. Shorecrest is unique among American high schools in that it boasts a bagpipe band, offering bagpipes as a music class. The pipers perform at many school events.

Shorecrest will arrive in Dublin on March 15 and depart on March 25. They will march and perform in parades in Dublin and Celbridge on St. Patrick's Day and later in Limerick. In addition to the parades, the band will perform in the town square of the city of Cobh and tour many sites in Ireland, including Cork, the Blarney Castle, Killarney and the Rock of Cashel. Students and their families have raised more than $40,000 "Dublin Dollars" to help defray the cost of the trip.

Shorecrest travels to Ireland every four years so that students can have this opportunity once in their high school career. In its last appearance in 2008, Shorecrest was selected as Best Youth Band in the Dublin St. Patrick's Day Parade. Over the school's 50-year history, the band has performed in numerous local, national and international parades.